Wild Boy
by Ejes
Summary: My name is Teddy. I'm 14 years old, I look good, and I hang out with jerks. In my class, there's this boy, Billy. My jerk 'friend', Walker, decided that bullying Billy Kaplan, who is gay, would be his new hobby. This is the story of my school life: how I tried to gain Billy Kaplan's trust, who looks like a Wild Animal and refuse anyone to come close to him... T for language
1. Meeting

_**Hello everyone! I'm Tory, and this is my first Young Avengers fanfiction. I hope you will like it. It's a few chapters long, hope you'll stay until the end! Feel free to review :3**_ **  
 _Disclaimer : I do not own Young Avengers!_**

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My name is Teddy Altman. I'm a 14 year-old teenager living quite a normal life. I have a loving mum, no sibling no tease, a father ever hardly mentioned (Mum told me once that he passed away, but she never wants to speak about him), and a quite a normal school life.

Quite, because I realised years ago I could change my appearance, easily to a hulk-green creature with wings, with more concentration to almost anything else. Does my mother know? Guys, has Peter Parker told his aunt May he could throw spider web? Would Bruce Wayne shout to the world he is Batman? Keeping this secret makes me feel like a superhero. I've got a secret identity no one knows about. I'd love to go save the world, but I have to find a cool name first, and that's not as easy as one might think.

Oh, as you might have noticed, I'm a geek when it comes to superheroes. I know almost everything about everyone of them. I'm an active contributor to their Wiki Page, too.

There are a few more things to know about me, but I guess it's time to begin the story, so you'll discover them along.

I'm part of the football team. You know, that reputation about those footballers being handsome, and super popular? Well, it's true, most of the time. All the guys in my team are really good-looking, and I suppose I am too. But looking good is not enough, of course. Those guys are complete _jerks_ , and I do hope I am not. I hang out with them from time to time, but really we do not have much in common. I joined the team because I wanted to be normal. I was afraid that if I got angry or anything, I would change my appearance (trust me, it happened, luckily never in public), and nobody mess with a quarterback. Hanging out with jerks to fit in the mould, that was my life plan.

Anyway, one day, at lunch break, I noticed all my "friends" (sic) gathered around a boy. He was in my class, but so discreet that I never knew his name (we were in the end of September, it's not like we spent a whole year together, don't judge me!). I was too far to hear what they were saying, but it was not that hard to know: they were not just jerks, but also bullies. They were probably trying to get his lunch or to punch him because their eyes met. The team was composed of middle schoolers, but all pretty massive, making the sitting boy even smaller. I walked closer, trying to see if I could help.

"Oh, Altman, there you are! We were just having a little conversation with our friend here... Wanna join?"

He smirked. I sighed.

"Walker, aren't you ever sick of picking on other students? You're old enough to just... I don't know, leave everyone alone and live a happy little life?"

"Oh, stop being a wimp, Altman! We just want to teach that lil' guy a few lessons about life."

"About life? What you talking about, Walker?"

"Well, our boy right here thinks he can show up although he's a freak. Whining about being dumped by his _boyfriend_... Freaks like you should be happy about being allowed to live, faggot."

I stared in awe. I always knew Walker was the worst person in this school, but... He was bullying that boy because he was _gay_?

"I can't believe it." The words slipped from my thoughts to my mouth. And, of course, Walker misunderstood my awe.

"I know, right? What a monster!"

"What are _you_ saying, Walker? Don't you think you're going too far this time? I was getting sick of your inappropriate remarks to women, but now you're picking on homosexuality, and he's the one you call a freak? Leave him alone."

The other guys stepped back. I was as tall as Walker, and stronger. If we had to fight, I would win.

"What is that, Altman? Are you turning gay too? Going to comfort the little boy in your bed?"

"Fuck off, Walker. Standing for a guy being insulted does not make me gay. Still makes you a complete moron, though."

If a glare could kill, we would probably both have died. His face was all red, and I was worried mine would turn green. _Not green please not green please not green_.

"Fine, Altman. We're leaving your boyfriend alone... For now. Don't be late for training tonight, or you're training with heels, like a true fag."

And off they were. Trying to gain my temper back, I turned to the boy.

"I'm sorry. I would like to say that deep inside he's a good guy, but that would probably be a lie..."

I laughed. He didn't. He was looking at me as if I was the one who had been insulting him.

"I don't remember asking for any help."

"Yeah, because you were doing _so_ well by yourself."

"You think you did something good, don't you? You help the poor little gay boy. Hurray. You're a hero."

"Hey, I didn't do that to be thanked, but I don't think I should be hated either, buddy."

"Well, you are. Not only by me, because you stuck your nose in someone else's business, but now you're becoming your little friends' victim too. Congrats."

"You worried about me, eh?" My smirk wasn't exactly voluntary, but I was kind of relieved that was why he was mad. Except that was not.

"I do not give a shit about you. But this is just going to make my life worse. Maybe you think that you are sharing my pain now, that they will pick on you and let me go? Pain is not something you share, man. If I burn myself and you throw your hand in the fire, I won't feel better. We will just both get hurt. Try to get friendly with me, and you'll lose your friends, no one will ever talk to you again, and guess what ? All of a sudden, that top high school you were aiming at will tell you you _do not have the profile_. You wanna help me? Then leave me alone and never talk to me again."

I wanted to say something, but I couldn't. I was too shocked. Just how much pain had he endured until now?

Then, all of a sudden, he smiled. Not a kind and soft smile, more like a sadistic smile.

"Let me help you help me, _Altman_. No need to thank me for that."

And he grabbed my hand to put it at is collar. His eyes looked terrified. He was struggling as is I was strangulating him or something. A tear rolled down his cheek, and he started shouting with a panicked voice.

"Please, I promise! I won't ever do anything wrong! I'm so sorry I asked you if you were gay too! Please, don't hit me anymore! I swear, I will never ever talk to you or even look at you again, so please, let me go!"

Stunned, I said nothing, trying to get my hand back, but he was gripping it tightly, and the more I struggled, the more it looked like I was choking him. He started shouting again as if answering something I said.

"No, not my brothers! Leave them out of that! I will do anything, anything, but leave them out of it!"

"Hey, Altman!"

The boy released my hand and collapsed on the floor, his eyes looking at me as if I were a monster. Walker and the other guys were back, and looking impressed. They disgusted me.

"We came back to see if you were making out or anything, but I guess I was wrong... I always knew you were a good guy, Altman. No need to pretend to be a weak to make me feel more powerful, you know. If you want your share when I'm teaching kids this school's rules, you could have asked."

The other ones laughed stupidly. I looked back at the boy.

"What's your name?"

He answered with a shaking voice.

"Billy Kaplan, sir."

"Well, Billy Kaplan, I do remember that we are on the same class. Is that right?'

"Yes, sir. Very right. But I swear I will not tell anyone about..."

"You will tell", I interrupted," the teacher that I wasn't feeling well, and that I had to go home early. That's all I'm asking. C'mon, get up."

I held out my hand to help him up, but he refused it. As my body was masking his face from the other guys, he gave me a cold glare.

"Walker, sorry, I won't be there at the training today. Make me wear heels next time if that makes you feel better. I don't care."

Walker shrugged.

"Dude, with what I just saw, I think you fully deserve a day off. See you tomorrow, _hero_."

As I was leaving the school, I realised I just gained the respect from someone I despised, and got hated by someone I wanted to help.

Life sucked.

When I got home, mum was there. As soon as she saw me, she looked worried.

"Teddy, what on Earth are you doing home now? Why are you not in class?"

"I, uh..."

Noticing how troubled I was, she calmed down.

"Okay, take a seat. I'm going to make some tea, and you will explain everything to me, is that alright?"

I nodded. I was really close to her, and told her almost everything (that did not involve me changing my appearance). So when she sat next to me with two cups of steaming tea, I told her everything that happened today.

At first, she said nothing. Then she grinned at me.

"So you fell for that bullied kid, didn't you?"

If you're reading this, you probably already know it, but let me say it properly : I'm gay. Actually, I don't think there was ever a single day in my life where I doubted it. My mother never raised me by telling me that boys married girls. So the day my brain decided I should love someone else than my mother, it never was for girls. The day I told her I wanted to live a fairytale and to marry a handsome prince and we would live happily ever after (I was 6), she just kissed me on the forehead and told me "I wish I will be there to lead you to the altar.".

I kind of hid it at school because.. Well, because I did not want to live through what Billy was living through, but I never said that I was straight or anything. People just made assumption. Even when I told Walker that defending Billy did not mean that I was gay, that was just pure truth. If Kaplan had been straight, I would still have defended him and that would not have changed my sexual orientation.

Anyway, my mum knew about me being gay. Although that was clearly not the best time to joke about it.

"Mum, I'm serious! You should have seen his eyes... He looked like a wild animal. He trusts no one. He is all by himself. I don't remember seeing him with any friends or anything..."

"Sorry about that, Teddy. I was trying to make the atmosphere feel lighter... So, what do you want to do?"

"I want to help him. I want to be his friend. Not because he's being bullied. Not because he is gay. I just want him... To trust people again. I want him to have a normal life. I want him to know he _is_ normal."

"You risk being targeted by Walker."

"I don't care about Walker. He's an idiot and he wants me by his side because I look good and I'm strong. I give that 'popular' look. And I stay with him only because everyone else is scared by that popular reputation. He wants to bully me? Not my problem. I'm aware I'm not the freak one."

Mum sighed.

"Taming that boy might not be an easy task, Teddy, but if I can do anything, tell me. I wish you all the luck in the world... No matter who that boy is, he's still a better company than Walker, I'm sure of it."

We exchanged a smile. I loved my mother so much. She was the most understanding person I knew, and my dream in life was to become a person as good as her.

I spent the whole afternoon thinking of how to get Billy Kaplan to trust me.

By the evening, I had the beginning of a plan.

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 _ **Next Chapter next week :D**_


	2. First Step

_**I am really confused. I've been planning to post this chapter last week. And it somehow slipped away from my mind. As an apology, the next chapter will be out tomorrow!**_

 _ **Just so that you know, the story is already fully written, so I won't drop it! Thanks a lot for your lovely messages!**_

 _ **Alright, let's start!**_

* * *

I must confess, when I woke up that morning, I was really worried. What if my plan did not work? What if he hated me so much he would let me talk to him? I barely ate my breakfast. If my mother had not been in the kitchen, cheering me up / threatening me if I skipped class again, I would probably have gone back to my bed.

What I liked about mornings was that I did not met Walker or any other of his guys. Their "support" would be too much for me to handle.

I went to the school bathroom for a while, until I was almost late, then walked straight to the science class. As expected, everyone was there, the teacher gave me an annoyed look and told me to hurry to find a seat. And as expected, the only free seat of the room was next to Kaplan. He gave me his best pissed off glare and moved his books from my side of the table.

"I know you did this on purpose. I don't know why, but that was voluntary. Don't you start thinking of us as friends."

"Mh? What are you talking about, Kaplan? My alarm did not ring this morning, that's all. After what you did to me yesterday – making everyone think I'm the biggest homophobic guy at school – you really think I'd like to be your friends?"

"Mr Altman, Mr Kaplan, what could you be saying that is so much more interesting than my lecture?" When she was angry, our teacher looked like a mad owl. I suppressed a smile.

"Nothing, Mrs McMillan. We were just... Introducing ourselves."

"Do that later. So, as I was saying, you will have to find a partner for your science project, that will start today and you will present it at the end of the year. Anyone who presents a volcano will get half of the marks. I'm sick of volcanoes. Be creative! Okay, find a partner now and come writing your names on that paper."

Kaplan looked at me and I got the feeling he knew what I was up to, as he raised his hand.

"Can we work on our own?"

"Rejected. I said you had to work in pair, Mr Kaplan. So work in pair."

He sighed as I smiled.

"Guess we're partners then! This is going to be so fun!"

"What are you doing, Altman? Is that pity? I don't need pity."

"Oh no, boy, it's not pity. It's payback."

His body tensed as I got up to write our names on the list. I hated playing a bad guy role, but it appeared to be the only way to get to him. _One day, Kaplan, we're going to be friends. Just wait and see_.

When I came back, we almost had a normal conversation. We started thinking about what project to make.

"How about turning coins to silver and to gold? I saw students do that once, and that looked pretty amazing!"

Kaplan shrugged.

"I don't know. That's too... Classic?"

"Okay, your turn finding an idea then!"

He started thinking.

"I have an idea, but... Nah, forget it. It's stupid."

"What? Tell me! I might find it cool too."

He looked embarrassed, and I suddenly realized the barrier he was putting between us was slightly cracking. I knew it was too early to claim victory, but that still made me happy. Of course, his face still wore that frown, but that was a later step on my plan.

"Well, I was thinking... Working on... Arrows trajectory. Not just regular arrows, but several varieties, each having a different air resistance, and... No, it's a boring idea."

"You mean, like Hawkeye's arrows? Studying how he could shoot those arrows and how they work and everything?"

His idea hyped me up and I as speaking in an overexcited voice. No wonder, though. Once a fanboy, always a fanboy.

"You wouldn't mind? I've always wondered how those arrows worked but I never had time to deeply study that, and.."

His excited face was gone in a second, as if he remembered he was supposed to dislike me.

"I mean, okay, let's work on that. But don't start imagining things. This is just a class project. We'll work on it together, that's all. That does not make us friends or anything, so whenever class is over, stop talking to me."

As if the teacher heard him, she spoke up with her piercing voice.

"Okay everyone, for those of you who have found an interesting topic, write it down on this sheet before leaving. For those who haven't, you have a whole week to think about it. That's all for today!"

Kaplan put all his stuff in his bag, got up and left class first. I wanted to follow, but I had to write down our topic on the paper, losing time.

When I got out of class, I could see him quickly walking down the corridor. Walker was waiting for me at the door.

"What's up, Altman? Did that brat caused you any trouble today?"

I gave him a pissed off look.

"Cut it out, Walker. I've got something to do."

I turned to see if I could still see Kaplan. I did.

"Kaplan, wait!"

Almost everyone turned at me. Everyone but him, of course. I raced through the crowd to get to him. I finally caught him next to the lockers.

"Hey, Kaplan! Didn't you hear I was calling you?"

"And you, Altman, didn't you hear I told you not to talk to me outside of the class? What do you want?"

"Your mail address."

"My... _what?_ "

"If one of us finds anything interesting about our topic, don't you think it would be nice to mail it to the other one? Don't you worry, I'm not trying to be friendly, if that's what's bothering you. It's just for work."

"Fine. 'actualwizard666 '. Won't repeat it, so I hope you got it right. Send me anything that has nothing to do with work, and you're on the blacklist"

"Sure. Nothing but work. I promise."

Fingers crossed behind my back, of course.

He escaped quickly, before Walker caught me up.

"Running after Kaplan, Altman? You sure you haven't a thing for him?"

"I'm quite surprised you come and pick me up at my class, Walker. You sure you haven't a thing for _me_?"

His face turned purple. I guess questioning his sexuality was one of the worse insult he could receive. But I guess he got the message.

"We're on the same team for science project."

"You're going to make him live a true hell I hope?" He sniggered. "Careful, don't go to his place... Who knows what he could do to you?"

I didn't even know what to answer to such a stupid thing. So I ignored him.

"Don't you have class or something, Walker? Why were you there?"

He smirked "Oh, just wanted to know how it went with the gay boy."

"His name is Billy Kaplan" I snapped "Could you _at least_ remember that?"

"Woah, calm down, Altman. I never call people inferior to me by their names, so why should I start now?"

And that was unfortunately true. Even in our team, there was just a handful of guys whom he called by their name. That was how I knew I had some power on him : I was the only 14 years old in the elite. And the only one who could talk to him the way I did.

"Insulting him at any occasion will only get you to be suspended if a teacher hears you, Walker. I thought you could figure out that by yourself. Now, if you'd excuse me, I am going to be late to my maths class."

I left him here, probably trying to understand my words, and walked to my maths class.

Kaplan was also on my maths class, but the glare he gave me was clear : there were plenty empty seats in the class so I'd better not sit next to him. Or anywhere close.

So instead, I sat next to Sasha Applebaum, a cheerful girl who always forgot stuff at home but brought tons of snacks everyday.

"Want some chips?"

"No, thanks."

"Okay!"

Whenever I talked to her, that summed up our conversations. She spent the whole class doodling while I was taking notes. All of a sudden, she raised her head and looked at me.

"I heard you beat up Billy Kaplan. Is it true?"

She was the kind of weird person that never judged people. She wasn't accusing me, just curious.

"No, that's not."

"Then why did he pretend you did?"

"Complicated."

"I see."

And that was it. She was back at her doodles. I looked at her with half a smile. She was really weird, but I liked her. We would probably never become best friends but it was always nice talking to someone not judging you. No matter how weird the conversation was.

When class finished, it was lunch time. I noticed Kaplan was again the first out, and when I joined Walker and the other guys in the cafeteria (I really needed new... no, true friends), he was nowhere to be seen. For a second, I thought it was better this way, then I realized how terrible that thought was : was it better for him to spend the year hiding? Hell no.

I listened distractedly the guys at the table talking about a match they saw on TV, rating girls from their class, while I was thinking about my next move in the "Be Kaplan's friend" plan. All of a sudden, I remembered something, checked about it on my phone, and my face brightened up.

Two days left until weekend.

* * *

 _ **For anyone familiar with manga vocabulary: Billy is such a tsundere!**_

 _ **Anyway, next chapter tomorrow. I promise. I will set 10 alarms on my phone if necessary!**_


	3. The Museum

_**As promised, the chapter! By the way, I don't remember if I mentioned it earlier, but I'm French, so some expressions might sound awkward. Sorry about that. We just have very useful expressions in French so I'm always a bit confused about how to say some things in English! If you read something weird and have a better expression, feel free to tell me in the comments 3 (oh and I write mostly with British English so you might find some verbs that American people don't write the same way!)**_

* * *

 **Hey!**

 **What's up? I don't know if you heard about it, but this month, there's an expo about the Avengers at the Gallery. They will display a few outfits (Iron Man's first armours, I'm so excited!), several weapons the Avengers used, including some of Hawkeye's arrows. Worth having a look, uh? Are you free on Sunday?**

 **T.A.**

 **PS : I promise this is only for work. I will not try to be nice or anything. If you'd like, I can even be a douche.**

 **PPS : Please don't make me a douche.**

I read the mail a thousand times before sending it. I hoped nothing would offend him, and that he would accept. So when my mailbox informed me he had answered – barely two minutes later, I was almost afraid to read it. Still, I did.

 **Sounds good. Nothing planned on Sunday, so that's fine.**

 **Do you think they will only talk about the 'mainstream' Avengers (the ones who got a movie based on them) or about everyone? Anyway, that looks interesting. Meeting at the entrance of the Gallery at 10.00. Ok with you?**

 **B.K.**

 **PS : You don't need to act as a douche. Be yourself, you're annoying enough like that.**

I did my best to suppress a smile. He was trying to act cool and distant, but I could feel how excited he actually was. Another fanboy, uh? The more I talked to him, the more I liked the boy.

"What's with the happy face, honey? You finally got a date with your wild boy?"

I tried to look angry, but my sparkling eyes betrayed me.

"Mum! How many times do I have to tell you I'm not in love with him? You're aware that I will not fall for someone just because he's gay too, right?'

She messed my hair.

"Just teasing you, sweetheart. Relax. So everything is alright with... What's his name... Billy?"

"Remember the science project I told you about? Well, we're going to the Avengers expo on Sunday. Some of Hawkeye's arrows are going to be exposed so I hope we'll gather a lot of information!"

"Good, that's good. I hope you will have fun! Good luck, my little hero."

And she kissed me on the forehead before I could react.

"Mum, you really need to stop this. I'm not a child anymore."

"No matter what, you will always be _my_ child."

She sounded so serious there that I gave her a startled look, but she was smiling as usual.

"I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late... Good night, lover-boy."

I stuck my tongue out at her until she was gone, then got back to my computer. I had a mail to answer.

 **10.00 is perfect! See you tomorrow in class~**

 **PS : I don't mean I will talk to you. I will barely even notice you. As usual, of course. You will just be in my field of vision like anyone else. No big deal. A perfect stranger.**

He answered pretty quickly again.

 **PS : Remember when I told you that you were annoying enough when you were acting as yourself? Thanks for illustrating that.**

I grinned.

 **Are you aware that Post Scriptum are supposed to be added** _**after**_ **some text, so writing one with no text above is useless?**

He answered with a picture meme of Archer with **Do you want to be blacklisted? Because that's how you get blacklisted** on it.

I laughed. Having this kind of conversation was another victory. His wilderness was just a facade. A very thin wall he built to protect himself.

Not pushing my luck, I did not answer, turned off the computer and went to bed.

The next day went quite smoothly. Walker was as uninteresting as ever, whenever my eyes met Kaplan's, I acted as if I met a stranger's eyes and looked away. We had a test on our English class, but my mind was already at the Expo so I probably answered off topic the whole test. I went to my football training after class. The more I thought of it, the more I wanted to quit. I really had nothing in common with those guys. But doing a violent sport was good for me – nobody ever realized I was too strong for a teenager. Walker spent the whole training shouting after everyone (but his handful of "named" elite which I noticed was only composed of people strong enough to knock him out cold).

The closer we got to Sunday, the more excited I was. Of course, I was happy that Kaplan would come, but my excitement came from the fanboy side of me : a full expo with objects that truly belonged to the Avengers! Objects they touched, objects they used! It was almost too much for me to handle, and my mother got angry at me because I was unable to listen to what she was saying for longer than five seconds.

Then the Sunday came. I was up at 6.00 and I was overly excited. Take me to Disneyland and I would look indifferent, compared to today. An Avengers exposition! If I were on my own, I would probably have gone to the Gallery at the opening hour. Maybe even an hour early to be sure. I was so happy I caught myself giggling.

There was a note on the fridge. Did Mum woke up in the middle of the night to write it?

 **I was planning on making pancakes this afternoon. This is just for your information and has no second meaning at all. Love you!**

Sometimes I felt like I was 6 again and my mother was deciding of my whole schedule. But how could I be mad at her when she was just trying to support me? I didn't know if I wanted to hug her or to get annoyed. But she was sleeping and I could not hug her, so I pretended to myself I was annoyed. Just to be sure, I tore the note in tiny bits and threw it in the bin.

At 9.00, I couldn't stand the wait anymore. The Gallery was 15 minutes from home, but I couldn't stay inactive. I walked as quickly as I could, but I still arrived at twenty past. I noticed Kaplan already being there. No doubt, he was a fanboy. He did not notice me yet and was looking at the huge poster showing Captain America and Iron Man with sparkling eyes. He was biting his lower lip while smiling. As excited as I was.

"You know, Kaplan, you should smile more often. Suits you well."

He lost his smile instantly, which made me a bit sad. But I could still see how happy he was to visit in his eyes, and that was enough for me.

"I only smile when I'm with people I appreciate."

"I'm not sure I ever saw you smile before."

"Exactly."

I sighed.

"Well, now that we're both here, shall we go?"

He started walking towards the entrance, ignoring me. It was obvious that he was controlling himself not to run, and that was kind of cute. But the second we got in, he forgot all about restraint, and so did I. The first thing exposed was a replica of Thor's hammer, and we were both pressed against the glass to have the closest look possible.

"I'm pretty sure Thor's hammer handle was a bit longer."

"It was! And the designs are quite not right. That triangle should be pointing down, not up."

We were still impressed. Every item came with a lot of precision, of anecdotes such as when the item came handy. The whole exposition, everyone who saw us could have thought we were friends, because we forgot everything about the other: we were just two boys talking with passion about things they loved.

When we found the arrows, though, reality stroke back. My laughter died a bit in my throat, and even his face looked serious again.

"Back to business. That's what we're here for."

"Sure."

We took pictures of the arrows, wrote down the explanations. One of the arrow could spread tear gas. Another worked like a homing device. Another split into four smaller arrows. And so on. Some had different shapes, depending on the distance they were expected to reach. Their length, their composition, their weight, everything was carefully balanced. The level of craftsmanship was stunning.

I started thinking about my own abilities. Will I, too, one day, have my place in this gallery? Will I be remembered as a good guy? Will I do anything good, be a hero, or will I just stay that boy hiding his superpower to every one, be a freak? For some reasons, that thought scared me. What if I was just a nobody, what if I stayed a nobody?

I was so stuck in my thoughts that I did not realise I spent maybe ten minutes staring at the arrows. It's only when I heard Kaplan's voice that I came back on earth.

"Altman? Should we get moving?"

"What? Oh, yeah. Sure."

"You alright?"

"I'm fine! But also starving. How about eating somewhere?"

He looked at me warily.

"Oh, come on, Kaplan. I'm not _inviting_ you. Each one pays his share. I'm just hungry and I'm going to a fast food and since you told me to be myself, well, here I am, being kind enough to ask the person I'm with if he wants to join."

He sighed.

"Fine. Whatever. You're a weird guy, Altman."

I smiled. "You have no idea."

We went to the closest McDonald's and when he saw the surprised look I gave at his sandwich, he looked upset.

"What? You thought that gay guys only ate salads and healthy stuff? That's part of the stereotype?"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Would you _stop_ think my IQ is as low as Walker's for a second? It's just that it's a really spicy hot sandwich and I honestly never saw anyone being able to eat it without breathing fire. Stop getting offended for nothing, man."

He grumbled something that _almost_ sounded like an apology and bit hard in his sandwich. His face turned red and his eyes filled with tears. Was it the first time he tried it? Or did he just try to prove me the stereotypes were wrong by taking the "manliest" burger on the menu? I repressed a laugh and offered him a bite of my non-spicy sandwich. He refused at first, pretending he was fine, had a second bite, and then finally accepting my sandwich.

"That was…" he coughed "...a strong one. Thanks."

"Next time, pick something you like, not something to prove yourself, okay?"

He frowned at me, but when I stuck my tongue at him to show I was joking he shrugged.

We finished our meal in silence. Well, he finished his chips and drink, leaving the burning sandwich aside.

Once we were done, the silence was just more awkward. I did not want to talk because almost no matter what I said, he acted offended, and he did not talk, probably because he was still half-thinking that I was a jerk or that I was just pitying him. Maybe even both.

"About the notes we took… Don't you think it would be better to write down a full report out of it while it's still fresh in our memories?"

"I guess so… But where? Clearly not here, school is closed… Library?"

"How about my place? I don't live that far away, and we can use my laptop to write down everything?"

He looked wary. Again. But then he just sighed and said "Well, fine. Can't stay too long though, I promised my parents I'd take care of my brothers tonight."

"No problem, it will only take a couple of hours, I guess. And if we're not done, we'll complete it later. No worries."

And so we were off to my house.

"Mum, it's me!"

She rushed down the stairs, as excited as if Santa had announced himself. I gave her the coldest glare I could (not too good at it, I'm afraid) but she just ignored me.

"You must be Billy Kaplan! I'm Teddy's mother. I'm so glad to see that my boy is hanging out with normal people, unlike… _Walker_ (the disdain was strong in this word). Please make yourself comfortable. I'll be upstairs but if you need anything…"

"He'll ask me. Thanks Mum. Now if you'd excuse us, we're here to work."

"Of course you are. Have fun!"

She left us, humming.

"I'm going to take my laptop. You can sit on the sofa if you'd like, I'll be back in a minute! Oh, and if you need to use it, that door is the bathroom."

When I came back, laptop in my hand, he wasn't sitting. He was staring at the pictures Mum framed on the wall.

"Please don't look at the clothes I was wearing… My mother still thinks that reindeer costume made me the cutest of them all. I should burn that picture."

"When I was 6… My mother made me wear a pumpkin costume. I was literally an ugly orange ball."

"Mums are scary, right?"

He nodded, still looking at the pictures.

"You don't have any sibling?"

"Nope."

"And what about your father? Are your parents divorced?"

"Died when I was a kid. Honestly, I don't remember a thing about him."

Awkward silence. He turned back and looked straight into my eyes.

"I'm sorry… Shouldn't have asked. That was rude."

"Never mind that. Not like you could know anyway, right? How about your family? You've got brothers, right?"

"I do. I live with my parents and two younger brothers. They are eight and six. Anyway, should we go back to work?"

We started working on the report. He was reading the notes and I was rephrasing them into complete sentences. I couldn't help thinking how much his behaviour towards me had changed in less than a week. I was glad. He was probably not the "trust anyone" type, he just thought that would be the best option to protect himself - but truth was he was a nice guy who wanted like anyone else to get some friends.

We had been working for a full hour when we decided to have a break. I brought the pancakes my mother cooked along with some apple juice and he looked really happy. He waited for me to take one and he stuffed one in his mouth.

"Be't pa'cakes I ever had!" His enthusiasm made me smile (and also his struggle to speak with a mouth full, I admit).

"My mother is by far not the best cook in town but I believe her pancakes are the best in the multiverse!" (which was actually true, although I did not know it yet)

Once our stomachs were stuffed with pancakes, we did not really feel like going back to work. Kaplan even lost his usual frown, and he somehow looked younger now.

"Say, Altman… Your mother, she doesn't really like Walker, right?"

"Not exactly… He came only once, put his feet on the table, stayed forever, told me I needed a father because there was no way I could get a proper education from a woman… Well, Walker being Walker. She caught him by the collar, pushed him to the door and told him with her brightest smile that he was no more welcome here."

"And you don't appreciate him either."

"I don't think a single person in the universe appreciates him. The other guys just fear him."

"So… Why do you stay with him, exactly?"

"It's more like he stays with me, although he likes to pretend otherwise. And the thing is, I'm categorized as the talented quarterback. Nobody talks to me, they act as if I were a star or something. That's stupid, I know. But it's either having lunch with him and sometimes surprisingly having an interesting conversation, or staying on my own with no friend."

His face darkened, and I realized I said something I shouldn't have. After all, _he_ was on his own.

"But hey, if you've got room at your table for lunch, I'm sure we could have much more interesting discussion than regular dudes' topics : football and girls rating."

His look seemed almost murderous. I bit my tongue. Shut up, mouth, you're making things worse.

"Oh, of course there won't be any girl rating at my table, Altman. Thanks for reminding me that I am not regular. Not normal. So what, you wanna eat with me because I'm _different_? At least now I see that you are exactly the same as them."

He stood up. I massaged my temples.

"I did not mean to insult you. I was being cliché anyway. I meant that we would be talking superheroes and maybe even comics or videogames. I'm not saying you're not normal, Kaplan. I'm saying you're not acting like those stereotypical guys which is a _good_ thing that I like. I don't know if I'm your friend, but you're mine. Please remember that."

"I have to go."

He left in a hurry, and I could see he was on the verge of crying. I ran to my room, locked the door, stuffed my head in the pillow and shouted as loud as I could. I wasted all my efforts. He hated me again. I wanted to punch myself. I was so angry that I turned completely green, but that was the least of my worries.

Through the door, I heard my mother's voice.

"If you want to talk about it, my door will always be open, Teddy."

Her words made me cry.

* * *

 ** _That's it for this week! Not sure if it really is a present to leave you with such a... happy ending? :p But hey, that's life for you!  
Oh, and if you felt like hitting Billy in this chapter, so did I. But I really wanted him to feel paranoid, to think that every comment anyone made was to remind him he was not 'normal' (in his mind, this absolutely does not reflect my thoughts ;) ), as he is feeling like a freak. By the way, since it's not really explained in the story, Walker is guilty of all of that: Billy always heard him saying that gays were freaks and since Walker is quite influent, Billy slowly started to believe in._**

 ** _Screw you, Walker!_**

 ** _Another note : I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter for a stupid reason. Two letters, actually. On the first exchange between Teddy and Billy, the boys sign with their initials. I realized that Billy's initials were the same as Burger King. And yeah, I laughed for 5 good minutes. Whenever Billy annoys you, think of a gigantic burger. Lot of love, Ejes._**


	4. Rumours and Rebellions

**_It's me again! Hope you enjoyed the chapter 3. Now is the time for the Fourth!_**

* * *

I usually don't like being the centre of attraction, but I eventually got used to being the favourite topic of a bunch of girls I never talked to and who would giggle whenever I looked at them.

But that Monday morning, when I walked into that corridor and everyone fell silent, looking at me, I had the bad feeling that they weren't discussing about my football skills. And indeed, they were not.

I couldn't catch any glimpse of conversations as they always stopped talking whenever they spotted me, but they looked at me as if I was some kind of hero.

On my way to my Spanish class, I met my "groupies" (remember, those giggling girls) and one even talked to me. Worst, she put her hand on my shoulder while doing this.

"This must have been so scary, Teddy. I'm glad you had the strength to come back to school after such a terrific event. I promise we will make sure he won't bother you anymore."

"What? What's that about? What event? Who won't bother me?"

"You're so kind to pretend it did not happen… We will protect you, don't worry."

And they were off. I was thinking so hard about the meaning of all of that that I did not even cared about my class falling silent when I went to my seat. What on Earth was going on?

"Altman, that's your English book. Try at least to take the correct one."

I watched at the person sitting next to me. Sasha Applebaum, chewing a Snickers and pointing at me the book I took out of my bag.

"Oh, yeah, you're… You're right."

"You don't look good. What's the matter?"

And I suddenly realized she would be the best person to ask.

"Have you, uh, heard about weird rumours about me?"

"All the times. Some girls say you're so awesome that you cannot be human."

"No, I mean… More recently. Today kind of recently."

She looked at me with her grey eyes, as if she could read everything inside of me.

"That might not make you happy at all. You sure you want to know?"

"I do."

"Do you want a Twix or something before? I have Kit-Kats too."

"Sasha… Just tell me."

She sighed and lowered her voice, so that the teacher would not get mad. Luckily, we were at the back.

"Fine. The rumour is for now the following : someone saw Billy Kaplan following you to your house. Apparently, he tried to kiss you, and you pushed him away, and he left crying. But that's just the beginning, Altman. By the end of the day, you need to know that the story will even be worse."

I was shocked. Kaplan, trying to kiss me? People were stupid enough to think that gay people were desperate enough to try to kiss anyone from their gender?

"That's just rubbish. All of that."

"I thought so. Kaplan looks like a good guy. I'm not sure I can do much about it, but do you mind telling me what happened?"

I couldn't tell her everything, so I summed up as well as I could, whispering as loud as I could so that everyone around could hear me.

"We were working on our science project at my house. I ended up telling him things that he misinterpreted and that hurt him, so yeah, he left crying. Not because _he_ did anything wrong, but because I'm the jerk."

"Question : If I could write an article in the school paper to tell the truth, although I don't think many people will believe it, would you like me to?"

I thought about it for a minute.

"No. People want to believe I'm the good guy and a victim. They won't buy truth. And Kaplan will probably hate that publicity too - he made it clear that he doesn't want me to defend him. Even if I'm just saying the truth."

"Fine. Altman… I'm sorry for all of this. I'll do my best to stop the rumours, I promise. I just hate when people are spreading this shit."

I smiled at her. She was really a sweet girl. And honestly, if I was into girls, I would probably have a thing for her.

"Still no Twix?"

I laughed a bit too loud at that, earning a scowl from the teacher.

" _Lo siento!_ " I apologized in Spanish, and the teacher turned back to the board.

At the end of the class, people started gossiping again. I hoped they heard my version of the story.

Next class was Maths. I had the unpleasant surprise to discover Kaplan was not here. I was sure I saw him when I arrived that morning - then what might have happened struck me : he heard the rumours, and left. Applebaum sat next to me again, but that time, she remained silent.

When the class ended, I hesitated to go home for lunch. Unfortunately, Walker managed to see me before I could escape, and put his arm over my shoulder, rubbing my hair with his fist.

"Here is he! The Boy Who Survived! Some nasty moves that fag made on you, right? If I were you, I would have punched him in the face!"

"You're the one I want to punch right now, Walker", I said while freeing myself from his clasp. "Nothing happened between Kaplan and me. I said something really rude to him, _unintentionally_ , which is why he left my house. So stop spreading stupid gossips about him. Or about me. Or about whoever."

"Yeah, of course you would say that, Altman. That is _so_ you, to protect the weak and the defenceless! But don't worry, you can tell me what really happened - that will stay between us."

I was boiling with anger, feeling like I could throw my fist at him with no afterthought. I closed my eyes and try some breathing exercises. Then, suddenly, I realised what I was supposed to do. What I should have done since a long, long time.

"You know what, Walker? I'm good at football, but I don't really like it. Our coach is never there and you are a poor excuse for a substitute. I don't get along with you, I don't get along with the other guys who are just a bunch of sheeps following you because they are _scared_ of you. I am not. A sport team should be about having fun and I don't have fun. It should be about being enthusiastic when going to the training and this is much more a chore to me. So I made my decision: I quit. Don't bother picking me up at my class like an overly attached boyfriend. Don't bother keeping me a seat for lunch just to talk to me about how much this or that girl is said to be a slut. I'd like to say I'm thankful for this year and a month in the club, but I'm not. Now if you would excuse me, I'd rather have lunch alone than to listen to your stupid trashtalk one more day."

I left before the words could sink into his tiny brain. I was proud of me, I did not hit him, I did not turn green, and I was rid of him. Today was almost a good day.

I heard him shouting from behind "Don't you think you can go like that, Altman! I'll make you pay for this!"

And I knew he would. I knew he would make my life hell. But I promised myself not to regret that decision.

"That was the bravest thing I saw someone doing. Well, except that guy who jumped in front of a train to help an old lady who had fallen. But still pretty brave."

Applebaum, of course. She was sitting on a bench and looking at me with her sparkling eyes, an amused smile drawn on her face.

"If you have got no one to eat with at lunch, there is still room on my table… I was going to eat anyway. Feel free to join."

"Applebaum…"

"Sacha. I hate when people call me by my family name. Always feels like they despise me somehow."

I followed her to the cafeteria, where she joined a table of five people, three girls and two guys.

"Guys, Teddy freed himself from Walker The Terrible. Mind if he joins us?"

While all the people around were staring at me, the ones on Sasha's table barely even stopped their talks.

"Yeah, sure. Welcome to the newspaper club's table, Teddy Altman. So, what I meant is that if you want to give a body positive message…"

And they were off in their talks again. Sasha laughed "Don't mind them, they're a bit weird. This is Josh, Nathan, Sarah, Emily and Ashley. All 8th grade. Oh, and just so that you know, I don't force you to have lunch with us. Just know that you will always be welcome here. And even if I doubt he cares, so is Kaplan."

"Thanks, Sasha. I appreciate. Really." And I did. She did not pretend that we would become best friends, and she knew we probably wouldn't, she just was being nice and welcoming.

During the lunch break, I started a really interesting debate with Emily and Josh when Josh asked if we believed the Avengers were still active or not. We talked as if we had always ate together, and for a while I even forgot about the nasty rumours spreading behind me.

Even the afternoon classes went on quite smoothly. I ignored the admirative or disgusted looks. But when the end of the day came, I saw Sasha looking at me with a sorry face and I knew she wasn't bringing anything good.

"Do you want to be up-to-date with what is being told about you and Kaplan?"

"Do I want to? No. I want people to care with their own business. But I guess I'm still curious to know how stupid they really are."

"Well, first of all, rumours are saying that _you're_ the one who told that. In the middle of the Maths class. So if _you_ said it it must be true. So apparently, here's what happened according to _you_. You were going home when Kaplan stalked you and broke into your house. You told him to leave, but he refused. Of course, since you're not a bad guy, you did not want to get violent or anything. He tried to kiss you (some even say he tried to _abuse_ you) several times, and when you pushed him away, he ran away. There are some 'witnesses' who can swear he shouted to you that you would better not repeat what he did, but of course you are not scared so you thought it would be better to warn people about that psychotic kid. You are so shocked that you left the football club to go back home directly after school, hoping he would not follow you again."

That was it. The whole story, who had nothing at all to do with what truly happened. A story so altered that you could not compare to the original. A story so sick that I wanted to punch every single person telling it, changing it to their own version.

"Teddy? You're crying."

I was so mad that I could not control my tears. Not only this story made me a victim, but the true victim, Kaplan, was depicted as a monster, a dangerous boy, when he was just a regular person trying to live his own life. Could he turn himself into someone else? Become green if he did not pay attention? How come was _he_ the monster?

I stepped into the corridor, full of people going home or to their clubs. I cleared my throat and talked with the loudest voice I could.

"Listen up, everyone. I suppose you know who I am, as you are all fantasizing about my life. I don't care if you believe me or not, but at least I'll know I told you the truth, and those who don't believe it are stupid people who just like juicy stories over the truth. You know what happened between Kaplan and me? We were working at my place. Yup, working, writing a report. And then I told something incredibly stupid and insulted him, which is why he left my place. No kiss, no abuse, just a stupidly rude Theodore Altman. I quitted football because they're a bunch of machos and I don't recognize myself in that. So now, believe what you want. Believe your juicy stories, or believe the truth. That's not my problem. But if anyone bullies Kaplan because of what _they_ think he did, be prepared to know how I look like when I'm really mad."

The whole corridor was silent. Many were staring at their feet, uneasy. Then, someone started clapping. Then another one. And another. Almost everyone was clapping at me, looking at me as if I were a war hero. Sasha bumped her fist into my shoulder.

"Way to go, Teddy. Now let's just hope they will be more clever than what we really expect them to be!"

I shared her fears. When I got home, I did not answer to my mum's "How was school?". I locked myself into my room, and I fell asleep.

The next day, rumours had almost all died. Kaplan was there, but his glare indicated me he wasn't in a talkative mode. Some people still gave him weird looks. I heard at least three "fag", "I hope you die", "Monster", but the one saying it always disappeared before I could catch them.

On our science lab on the Thursday, I started the conversation with a simple "How you doing?". He ignored me and started doing the experiments we had to do on his own. At the end of the class, he handed me a paper, with his own notes about the wind resistance for our project, with a handwritten note on the last page. **I don't need a knight in a shining armour. If you talk to me, talk about the project. I won't answer about anything else. Don't think we're friends.**

Every single word painfully echoed in my head. No matter what I did, it felt like I made his life even worse. But I refused to give up. Maybe he just needed time.

And three weeks flew. We started talking to each other - but only when it was about the report. He would ignore me if I ever talked about something else. Even when I offered him to work on the report from my place. Anything that made me sound friendly looked like an insult to him. I did all I could to make the best of it, trying from time to time to crack a joke just to see his face as he did his best not to smile.

One day, I got the feeling that I wasn't the one doing my best for him. He was the one trying his best to stay away from me, to protect me from more rumours.

On that Thursday night, in the middle of November, I learnt the hard way I could not be closer to the truth.

* * *

 _ **Sometimes I wish I had a friend like Sasha. I mean, she's an infinite resource of food, she's clever, and she's kind. But hey, my friends are not that bad either!**_

 _ **Feel free to leave a review, anonymous welcome. Next chapter soon :D**_


	5. Unexpected Reconciliation

**I don't thank you enough for all your reviews. I read them all though, so thanks a lot, you guys really make my day**

 **Today is my birthday and tomorrow is Valentine's Day so have a lovey dovey chapter today 3**

* * *

The day had been boring. It was cold, rainy, nothing interesting happened in class, Nathan and Sarah had a fight in the morning so lunchtime was deadly silent, Sasha had the flu and was not there, Kaplan ignored me as usual, not even a good movie on TV to watch, and dinner was composed of tasteless leftovers. I went to bed early, and, buried under my duvet, I was reading for the hundredth time my favourites comics until late. I could hear my mother soft snoring in the room next to mine. Then, all of a sudden, I heard a noise downstairs. Had it not been midnight, I could have sworn it was someone lightly knocking on the door. I hesitated a second. Should I go and see? Or was it a prank?

Curiosity won. I got up and walked to the door. When I opened it, I could see someone slowly leaving our driveway. I was about to close the door when I recognized the person.

"Kaplan?"

The person stopped, and turned around. It was probably easier to recognize him from his back than from his face, covered with cuts, bruises and blood.

"Oh my god. What happened?"

"I'm… I'm sorry. I know it's late. I know that's selfish to come here when I do nothing but push you away at school. It's just that… I've got nowhere else to go."

And he sounded so desperate that I believed him.

"Come in."

He did, staring at his feet, looking really uncomfortable. I guided him to the sofa, offered him a blanket and brought back the first-aid kit.

"Be brave, this is going to hurt. A lot."

"Already does." He groaned.

While I was cleaning his cuts, I asked him what happened. His voice was so blank that I realised he must still be really shocked.

"I went to the cinema to watch West Side Story. At the end of the movie, I was on my way home, when a group of guys noticed me. They started… Bullying me, and I could not do much to defend myself. I guess I should be used to homophobic insults, but I'm not. Anyway, one of them started hitting me, and they only left when I was lying on the ground, knocked out. I don't know how long I've been unconscious, but when I woke up, they were gone. I could not resolve myself to go home like this, so…" His voice started shaking, and he was on the verge of crying.

"It's over, it's over now. Have you seen their face? Do you know them?"

He looked away, and I realised I already knew exactly who was behind this. Who would start a fight with a 14-years-old, knowing he was gay, but someone who already knew him?

"Was Walker part of the team? Was he the one who hit you?"

He stared at the ground, then slowly nodded.

"We need to get you to the hospital. Or to a police station. You need to tell them what happened."

He gave me a terrified look.

"No, we can't! I don't want to worry my parents with that, and…"

There was something he refused to tell me. But what? I decided it would be better to let him talk when he felt like it.

"Do you want to sleep here? We've got an extra mattress. That will give you time to come up for an excuse to your parents, if you don't want them to know the truth."

"I'm so sorry about that, Altman."

"Teddy. I suppose it's time we stop acting as if we were strangers, don't you think, Billy? And don't apologize. The only one who should apologize is Walker."

We shared a bitter smile.

"Do you want something to warm you up? A coffee? Hot chocolate? Tea? A shower maybe?"

"Thanks, but I'm fine. Well, as fine as I can be, I guess…"

"Okay. Follow me. I'll get the mattress."

I told him to sit on my bed the time I would prepare his bed. When I came back to my room with some bedsheets and pillows, he had fallen asleep, still half sitting. I brought his legs on the bed, placed a pillow under his head and a blanket on him, before lying on the mattress on the floor.

"Sleep tight, Billy. Try to forget about all the terrible things that happened tonight."

Still, one thing was sure : _I_ would not forget.

The next day, when my alarm went off, Billy did not move, and I thought he probably deserved a day off. My mother was in the kitchen. Her sleep was so deep that she probably would not wake up if Godzilla stepped on the house. I summed up what happened, and she looked worried.

"If anything like this ever happened to you, Theodore Rufus Altman, you would better go directly to the police. Don't you care about worrying me. What is he thinking? That his parents won't wonder why his face is swollen? I don't mind hosting him for a couple of nights, but I want his parents to know what happened by tomorrow, or I will go to them myself. Anyway," she softened a bit," I will come back for lunch today. See if he needs anything. It's so sad that you boys start talking to each other for such a dramatic reason…"

We finished our breakfast in silence. I kissed her goodbye, and she grabbed my arm while I was leaving.

"Teddy. I know it would be useless to tell you not to do anything stupid, because you would do it anyway. So instead… Make sure I don't have to come pick you up at the police station, okay?"

"Will do my best to hold back. I promise."

She gave me a soft smile and released my arm. We both knew I would be back by lunchtime anyway.

At school, Walker was nowhere to be found, so I left a paper on his locker. **See you at 10.00 on the football field**. I did not sign. He would be more likely to show up if he believed it was a madly in love fangirl.

I did not pay attention in class. I couldn't. And there might have been something in my eyes, a mad glimmer or something, because no teacher called me to the order. Sasha welcomed me with a smile and a snack, but she did not even tried to talk to me.

At the 10.00 break, I went to the field where I trained for a bit more than a year. Walker was there, clutching my note in his hand. I noticed he had some bandages on his knuckles - oh, this poor little thing hurt his tiny little hands?

"Walker? Cool bandages, man. How did you hurt yourself, by killing a super villain and saving the planet I guess?"

He sneered at me, looking proud.

"Just been a little bit too affectionate with someone yesterday."

"Does this someone have a name? Billy Kaplan, for instance?"

"Do you really think I remember the name of every freak I meet? You asked me if I saved the planet? Well, I do my best to save it from its extinction by correcting its mistakes."

"Billy Kaplan is a mistake to you?"

"Every single fag is a - "

I did not give him the chance to complete, as my fist crashed into his face. He fell on the ground, but I grabbed him by the collar, lifting him above my head, until his feet could not touch the floor.

"Let me educate you a bit, Walker. Every time you called a girl a slut, a whore, every time you called an afro-american a nigger, every time you insulted someone for their appearance, disability, way of speaking, sexual orientation, or anything you could find to discriminate them, I imagined my hands around your neck. So if you want your worthless live to go on, keep these lips sealed, and don't ever, _ever_ touch Billy or anyone else again."

Of course, I was talking to Walker. My words had little impact on his, even if he was choking. He managed to set himself free from me and threw himself on me.

I wish to say it was a glorious fight, but it was not. He punched me so hard I heard a rib cracking. I dislocated his shoulder. My eyebrow arch was bleeding. But not as much as his nose. I was clearly dominating when some people noticed us and pulled us apart.

Of course, we got summoned by the headmaster. He asked to Walker first to tell what happened.

"I don't know, that boy is mad! He left a paper on my locker, telling me to meet him on the football field, and without a warning he starts beating me up! I fired him from our club when I understood how violent he was, but I never thought he would try to kill me for that…"

"Mr Altman. Unlike Mr Walker, this is the first time I ever see you on this office. Would you mind telling me what truly happened?"

The word _truly_ made me flinch. I guessed he was used to Walker's rubbish, although he usually managed to get someone punished for him.

"Walker is bullying Billy Kaplan since the beginning of the year. Ask anyone, they will tell you I'm not lying. Billy asked me to stay out of this, and he did not want to do anything against Walker either, so I did my best to hold back. But yesterday evening, Walker and some friends of him beat Billy until he passed out. He came to my house, half dead, because he did not want to worry his parents. His face is so swollen that I doubt anyone would recognize him. I'm pretty sure at least one of his rib is broken, he's limping and I guess he sprained his ankle, and he's absolutely terrified. So yeah, after seeing Billy like that, telling me Walker is the one who did that to him, I felt like it would be fair enough to make him pay. I'm ready to take responsibility for all I have done. I came to school ready to be expelled. That's fine with me."

The headmaster looked at both of us, looking exhausted.

"Unfortunately, if Mr Kaplan refuses to talk about what happened and to go to the police, what proof do we have? I suppose Mr Walker will deny everything?"

"You don't even sound like you think I'm innocent."

"Because I don't think you are. But no proof…"

"What if I brought proofs? Oh, sorry, I forgot to knock. But I've got proofs, if that's what you need, sir."

Sasha was leaning against the door, her phone in the hand. She tapped the screen and the phone started playing some voices.

" _Walker? Cool bandages, man. How did you hurt yourself, by killing a super villain and saving the planet I guess?"_

" _Just been a little bit too affectionate with someone yesterday."_

" _Does this someone have a name? Billy Kaplan, for instance?"_

" _Do you really think I remember the name of every freak I meet? You asked me if I saved the planet? Well, I do my best to save it from its extinction by correcting its mistakes."_

" _Billy Kaplan is a mistake to you?"_

" _Every single fag is a - "_

"Sir, I believe I have somehow Nick Walker's testimony. And if you wish, I also have some pictures of him harassing students. They made me promise not to talk about it because they feared reprisal, but I think this has lasted long enough."

Our headmaster's eyes brightened up.

"Mr Walker, do you have an explanation about that recording?"

Walker apparently did not have any good excuse and stayed silent. Sasha winked at me.

"I have made my decision. Mr Altman, no matter how angry you are, violence is never an answer. For that, you are expelled for a week. You will be back in class on the 26th. I will of course call your parents to tell them. As for you, Mr Walker", and his face darkened, "neither the school _and_ the law tolerates violence, discrimination, and bullying. I have closed my eyes many times because as Miss Applebaum said, no one ever dared speaking up, but I will not stay that tolerant. You are expelled for a month, and we will hold a disciplinary meeting to talk about you. Miss Applebaum, do you think you could talk to the victims so that they will testify?"

"I will do my best, Sir. Teddy, I wouldn't mind some help with that."

I nodded.

"And, Mr Walker, if your name is ever mentioned again in anything suspicious, I will make sure that university you're willing to go to will know exactly all of your acts. Am I clear enough?"

"Very clear. Sir."

"Now go home. Both of you. And no fighting, or I will call the police myself."

Walker shot me a deathly glare and left before me. Once he was out of sight, I turned back to the headmaster.

"Sir, I've got a request. It's about Billy. If you have to call his parents about what happened…"

"I won't. Not until he tells me himself his version."

"Thank you, Sir."

I left, accompanied by Sasha. Once I closed the door, I turned to her.

"I don't even know how… Thank you. Thank you so much. But how…?"

"You should have seen your face this morning, I thought you were about to kill someone, and I had my idea on who. I thought it could be useful to follow you and to film some evidence. Actually, I'm working on a paper for the club, about "harassment in school" and we started since September to gather proofs and testimonies, many of them involving Walker."

I was speechless. At first I thought she was a weird, not-that-talkative girl with whom I could chat from time to time, but she was actually more than that. A true friend.

"No offense, Teddy, but you sure look like you need…"

I winced. True enough, I was quite damaged.

"...a Kool-Aid. Heals everything, better than any nectar or ambrosia!"

She took a strawberry one from her bag and handed it to me.

"I'm sorry, I need to go back to class. I guess there's no point saving you a seat for lunch. Get better, Teddy Altman. In a week, I want you to help me make Walker pay for everything. Go heal yourself now, _hero_."

By the time I left school, my mother's car was parked right next to the exit. She looked tired, but not angry. She did not ask any question and I did not give any answer.

Billy was there too. His face was still purple and covered with bruises, and he was staring at the floormat.

"Hey you doing?"

"Your mother is scary", he mouthed to me. I raised an eyebrow.

"What happened?"

"What happened", answered my mother sharply, "is that he refused to call his parents to tell them what happened. So I had to call them myself."

I noticed she wasn't taking the road to go home.

"Where are we going?"

"The hospital. My son is badly injured and so is his friend. Where do you think we would go? Disneyland?"

I winced.

"Mum, has something _else_ happened? I rarely ever saw you mad about anything…"

Billy answered for her.

"Walker left the school before you. He saw the car, and then me in it, and he started yelling at me through the glass. Walker-style insults, obviously. Your mother got out of the car, and I don't know what she told him, as I could only see her back and she was talking with a low voice, but Walker's face paled and he left screaming. He called your mother a monster. I wish I knew what she told him to scare the hell out of him like that… But she really is a scary mother."

I knew my mother was stronger than most women. Probably more than most men too, given she once kicked Walker out of our house by carrying him by the collar - and his feet did not touch the ground. But according to Billy, she did not touch him, just talked. I lifted my eyes to the woman driving, trying to imagine her threatening someone, scaring off someone with words. My mum? Impossible.

"So… You're not mad at me, right?"

"This kid really needs to get a proper education. You should have heard what he said to Billy! I never imagined that boy was so mentally deficient. And he called me a _monster_! Teddy, I saw how broken he was, and I will never encourage you to become someone violent, but… Honestly, if you ever happen to meet him again, know that I don't consider tripping somebody up as a form of violence."

I smiled (which was a little painful). Although she was probably mad for Walker's terrible words towards Billy, I couldn't help but think the word "monster" was what made her the angriest.

"Teddy, by the way…"

I looked at Billy. He seemed uneasy.

"Your mother told my parents that Walker was picking up on me because I'm quite small and weak. She did not mention… You know…"

"Your parents don't know you're gay, right?"

"Yeah. I don't think I'm ready to tell them, so could you…"

"Silent as the grave."

"Thanks. Thanks a lot. There are so many things that I should thank you for… and apologize for…"

"Well, I accept your gratitude, but not your apologies. You did not do anything wrong, so why should you apologize? Oh and quit that guilty face, would you?"

I kindly punched him in the shoulder. His shoulder hurt. My fist hurt. So that stupid move from me only resulted in the both of us cringing with pain.

The hospital, finally. Billy's parents were waiting there, looking deeply worried (at least I assumed the two people who ran to him were his parents).

"Billy! Oh, my boy, look at how hurt you are! But you'll be fine. We'll get a doctor for you, okay? Oh my god, are you Teddy Altman? Did that Walker boy do that to you too?"

"Well, I, uh… Let's just say that I had an altercation with Walker, yeah."

"I know violence should not be an answer, but Teddy avenged your son, Rebecca, Jeff."

Rebecca focused her teary eyes on me, and suddenly hugged me.

"Thank you, thank you so much. We owe you for that. You know, Billy kept talking about you at home, he said -"

"MUM !" Billy's purplish face somehow was turning red. "Teddy's hurt, you're probably causing him a lot of pain, so let him go!"

It was true that the embrace was somehow painful.

"Misters Kaplan and Altman?"

A doctor was there, looking at our bruises as if he was already examining us.

"Which one of you should I check first? "

Billy gave me an amused look.

"Wanna go first, Altman? You look like you _so much_ in pain."

"Oh no, you go first, Kaplan. I need to talk to your mother to know exactly what you were saying about me."

The doctor sighed. Obviously, he did not have time for this.

"Fine. Mr Kaplan, come with me."

And as he followed, he turned back and shouted at his mother.

"No matter what he asks, don't tell him anything, mum!"

"Oh come on, what did you say? Did you tell them how hot I was? How handsome? How strong?"

"Shut up, Altman, or I smash your bones."

"Can't wait to see that happen, Kaplan."

A nurse gave me a cold glare. Shouting in a hospital was probably a lack of respect. I tried to apologize, but I burst into an unstoppable laughter. And seeing how Billy's shoulders were moving at the end of the corridor, I was not the only one.

* * *

 **Happy Valentine's everyone! Single or in couple, have fun AND EAT CHOCOLATE!  
Next chapter will be the last one, so be sure to be there!**


	6. Freak

_**This is embarrassing. Remember the "OMG THIS STORY HAS 6 CHAPTERS NEXT ONE IS THE LAST ONE"? Hem, it appears I was wrong. Yup, about my own fanfiction. You've got a genius there. This story has 7 chapters. I swear it this time, I triplechecked. Sorry about that T_T**_

* * *

December came. I was back to school, friend with Billy ( _just friends_ despite what my mother thought), we usually had lunch with Sasha  & co, and we got a lot of people agreed to talk about what Walker did to them. Extortion of money and/or lunch, bullying, violence, he had a big palmares, and the commission decided to expel him definitely. They came to an arrangement with his parents that as long as he stayed away from this school's students and staff, those 'incidents' would not be written down on his file, giving him a chance to join his dream high school.

My science project with Billy was going on fairly well, neither of us were geniuses but when it came to talk about superheroes, we were the two best informed guys in the school. Billy was as much of a superhero nerd as I was, if not more. I discovered he was one of the biggest contributors on the superhero wiki, just like me. Everything was really great. I could get to live a peaceful student life.

Looks good for a conclusion, right? If you wish, you could stop there. But I think you would be missing a somehow important part of the story. Oh, come on, I won't spoil it, but you started reading that for a reason, don't you?

December, then. I was helping my mother cooking when the house phone rang. I rushed to pick up, expecting Billy to tell me whether his parents were ok or not with him sleeping at my house tonight.

That wasn't Billy. That was his mother.

"Good evening, Teddy. Is Billy here?"

I frowned.

"No, he's not."

"He was supposed to be home two hours ago. We thought that he could be at the library so we waited until the closing hour, but he's still not here… And he won't pick up his phone."

"Don't you worry, Mrs Kaplan. I'm sure he's on his way, probably to my house. And if he's listening to some music, he might not have heard the phone?"

She was not convinced. Neither was I, honestly.

"Anyway, if you've got any news, could you tell us please?"

"I will."

My mother had stopped cooking. She looked at me as I hung up, worried.

"Has something happened to Billy?"

I tried to give her a comforting smile.

"That's what I'm going to find out. If he shows up, call me!"

I grabbed my coat, scarf and gloves and left the house. Billy told me he was supposed to spend the day at the library, as his mother thought, so that's where I started walking, texting him.

 **Everything fine? Your mum called, worried. Where are you?**

An ambulance was parked next to the library, a crowd gathered around it. I started to panic and ran towards it, pushing the people.

Relief, and then guilt. The injured was a girl, in her twenties. Definitely not Billy. I was relieved it was not him. I felt guilty to be happy to see this poor girl sitting there, crying and unable to speak.

"What happened?" I asked a guy next to me.

"She ran away from the library, and crossed the road carelessly. She got hit by a car. The car was driving slowly but the driver insisted on calling an ambulance. They say she can't talk because of the shock, but…"

I rose an eyebrow. "But?"

"Thing is, at least five other people came to the ambulance, and they can't speak either… This is just weird. People are freaking out."

And just as if he wanted to creep me out even more, Billy chose this very moment to text me back.

 **I think I've done something horrible.**

Fine, I was worried again.

 **Wanna talk about it? Where are you?**

 **You should stay away from me.**

 **Like hell. Just tell me where you are.**

No answer. I left the crowd and noticed several person sitting on the library steps, visibly shocked too. I wondered if they were the people the man told me about. But I had more important business now.

 **Old Bridge. Next to Stark's statue.**

I smiled at his text. The boy I met three months ago would never have answered me.

I hurried, and I saw a lot of weird things on my way. Car accidents because all the lights were green, mostly. Sometimes, people were motionless, as if they had been frozen while walking. I walked faster.

The place Billy indicated me was usually a crowded place, no matter the hour. But tonight, it was empty. No one. Not even a stray cat or a bird.

At first, I noticed the bike, laying on the ground. And sitting at the bottom of the statue, Billy Kaplan was weeping.

"Billy! Are you alright?"

"You should not have come. Walker was right. I'm a freak. I should not leave."

"All those accidents in town… Do you have anything to do with that?"

I sat next to him. He leant shoulder against mine.

"Yes. That's all because of me." Then, suddenly, he sounded alarmed. "Is anyone hurt?"

I thought about the girl at the library.

"No one that I saw. People looked a bit shocked, though. What happened?"

He did his best to stop crying.

"I was working at the library, and everyone around me was _so_ noisy, so I just wanted them to shut up… And suddenly they stopped talking. But it was more like they lost the ability to talk… I understood it was my fault so I ran away. And it's like everything that I wished happened! I wanted the lights to be green so that I would not have to stop. I wanted everyone to stop moving so that they would not cross in front of me. I wanted to be alone. I am a monster, Teddy."

"Are you kidding me? I understand that you freak out, but this is awesome!"

He gave me a cold glare. I guess he did not really see how I could see that being awesome.

"Think about it. You have superpowers. You might be a mutant! You can become a hero too! You can get what you want? Use it to stop supervillains!"

Something in his eyes changed. I hoped it was a spark of hope.

"You're not afraid of me? But my parents… They're going to reject me! To call me a monster!"

"I doubt they would ever do that. Still, you don't have to tell them, if you'd like."

"But -"

"Let me show you, William Kaplan, what I never showed to anyone, including my own mother."

I stood up. His eyes followed every single of my moves. And then, I changed my appearance, to my green alter ego. My eyes were closed, and I was somehow scared to open them. What if I just scared him?

"You… You are Hulk?"

His tone was shocked, but I did not heard hate or fear in it. I opened my eyes. He looked amazed.

"Like, Hulk Junior?"

"Not exactly", I laughed, "I can somehow control it. And even though this appearance is easier for me to take, I can be whoever I want."

I took the chairman's appearance, then Walker's, then Billy's.

"I thought I was a monster for… Maybe ten minutes, before realising how cool it was. You should do the same."

He wiped his eyes and got up.

"You're right. But still… Could you take another appearance? It's weird to talk to myself."

I took my appearance back. He tried to reach his bike, but I stopped him.

"I think you should try to cancel what you did before, okay? I'm sure all those people would appreciate."

"How do I do? I have no control? What if I can't -"

"I know you can. I trust you. Wish really hard for everything to come back to normal. It will be okay."

He closed his eyes, and I could see he was concentrating really hard just by seeing how he was shaking. Oh, and also by the blue aura around him. And the sound of thunder behind him.

" _IwantthingsbacktonormalIwantthingsbacktonormalIwantthingsbacktonormalIwantthingsbacktonormal_ "

We heard a voice. Two. More and more, as people appeared, crossing the place, ignoring us. The usually crowded place was crowded again. I quickly sent a text to my mother.

 **Tell the Kaplans I'm with Billy. He's fine. We're coming home.**

And we did. Everything was indeed back to normal. Pedestrians were walking again. Traffics lights were red. A carol had started in front of the library.

"Did you hear the thunder when I used my powers? Do you think I can control it too? Wouldn't that be awesome? Oh, maybe we should start thinking about superheroes names!"

"Calm down, Thor Junior. For now, you need to think about what to say to your parents."

"Don't call me Thor Junior! I don't want to have the name of someone else. I want a unique name, Hulk Junior. Although Thor is one of the coolest Avengers."

"Ditto. Hulk Junior is too long. And I don't exactly turn green when I'm angry. Be slightly more imaginative."

We stayed silent the rest of the road, each of us thinking of a cool name. It's only when we arrived at my doorstep that we looked at each other and spoke at the same time.

"Asgardian", I exclaimed while he enthusiastically said "Hulkling!".

We started laughing so much that even when we got in the house, with my mum and Billy's parents sitting on the couch looking at us disapprovingly, it took us five minutes to calm down.

"Billy, where have you been? Is everything alright?"

When he remembered he was supposed to think of an excuse, he paled.

"He was at the comic store when I found him… No battery on his phone, of course."

For a second, he looked at me, shocked. I winked, making sure none of our parents would see it.

"Yeah", he continued, "I'm sorry. Time really flew, and I did not notice about my phone… Sorry Mum, Sorry Dad. I did not mean to worry you. Sorry, Mrs Altman, I guessed you were worried too."

The Kaplans relaxed. They looked convinced. I wish I could say the same about my mother - her eyes were piercing through my body. When I was worried she would say something, she just sighed and shrugged.

"What matters is that everyone is fine. Rebecca, Jeff, Billy, will you join us for dinner? I think I did too much food anyway."

It was a happy dinner, filled with laughter. I really appreciated Billy's parents. I learnt that his brothers were currently on a school trip. Billy described them as two little monsters who brought nothing but chaos, and his parents did not even try to deny it.

I must confess that I was slightly jealous. He lived with his two parents. He had siblings. I had to grow up early, to help my mother, because it seemed unfair that she'd had to carry it all by herself. He probably never felt like he was a burden.

"Teddy, is everything fine? You look… preoccupied."

I smiled at my mother. "Nah, I'm fine. I was lost in my thoughts, that's all."

After the dinner, Mr and Mrs Kaplan left. Billy was allowed to sleep over.

We put the mattress on my room.

"Teddy", said Billy once we were lying down, "Thanks for earlier. I don't know what I would have told them… I just don't want to worry them. About anything."

I said nothing.

"I can't afford to worry them. My brothers already are a big source of stress for them… Being the eldest, I'm supposed to be strong. To be reliable. I somehow envy you, to be a lonely child. You don't have that pressure, to show the example."

My jealously flew away as he talked. I guess every family brings it own issues, right?

"Billy?"

"Yes?"

"Never, _ever_ say you're a freak again. Next time, I punch you. Hard. Got that?"

He chuckled.

"Wouldn't want to irritate Hulkling."

"Shut up, Asgardian."

With those wise words, we fell asleep, a stupid smile drawn on our faces.

* * *

 _ **Might sound like Déjà Vu but next chapter is the last one!**_

 _ **Hope you liked this one. I'm not fully happy with it and with how Billy learnt to deal with his powers, but well... Could have been worse I guess?**_

 _ **I'll try to upload the last chapter this weekend :)**_


	7. Christmas

_**Who's the most punctual girl on Earth? Clearly not me! (But well I'm sure you're getting used to that haha)**  
 **Anyway, last chapter for real this time. Hope you'll enjoy it!**_

* * *

December 24th. Usually known as Christmas Eve on Western Countries. A cold day, truthfully. I hoped to have a White Christmas this year, and it was more than likely.

I had planned to spend the day at home, cocooning on the sofa with some eggnog while watching Christmas movies, the kitscher the better. But of course, Billy Kaplan was determined to make me go out on the laziest day of my life.

"Seriously, Teddy. It's a matter of life and death. I need your help."

Hearing his voice message on my phone did not worry me a bit. I knew it was probably some stupid stuff. Hell, I just wanted to stay under that blanket forever!

But then, that traitor called on the house phone, and my mother picked up.

"Oh, hello Billy. What, Teddy? No, I don't think he's got anything planned today."

She was just ignoring my "NO WAY" mimes. With a sadistic smile.

"Teddy, sweetie, Billy needs your help. Do you mind lending him a hand?"

I slowly moved my head from the left to the right, in a negative motion.

"He says he's delighted to help you. The Christmas Market? Sure. He should be there in… Ten minutes?"

"Leave me alone" I mouthed "It's too cold anyway."

'Five minutes?! Well then Teddy you need to hurry! Okay, see you, Billy. I hope you are free on the 26th to have lunch with us. Really? Wonderful! Teddy's going now. Merry Christmas, Billy!"

When she hung up, I gave her a hurt look.

"Mum! Could you stop deciding my life for me?"

"Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"What? No! I just want to watch my movie, in the heat of this house, not to be outside on the crowd and in the cold!"

"You still get along? Then fine! Go out and meet him, and HAVE FUN."

She was pointing at me with her cooking knife, so I got up, took my coat and walked to the door.

"By the way, sweetheart, at the end, the little boy jumps over the barrier to confess. Oh, and that guy there, he goes to Portugal to find the maid and he propose to her."

"I hate you."

"You know you don't. Bye bye, Teddy Bear!"

Man, I hated when she'd call me that. Anyway, it was too late to go back now, so I waited at the bus stop until a bus came. Five minutes? I wouldn't make it. But the grumpy me thought that it did not exactly matter, that Billy could wait.

Of course, I felt a bit guilty when I saw him shivering in the cold. But then I remember the comfiness of my sofa.

"Hi Teddy! Thanks for coming!"

"You said it was a matter of life and death. It's better be, because if it's not, you can start digging your own grave."

He gave me an embarrassed smile."Fine, fine, I'll dig later. But for now I need your help."

I sighed. "Fine. What is it?"

"Well…Tomorrow's Christmas. I know you know," he added before I can tell anything "but still. Thing is, I can't find a present for my mother. I just have no idea of what she might like. My father gave me an unlimited budget. Please help?" His pleading face looked kind of cute, like that cat from Shrek. Wait. Did that mean I was Shrek?

"What does she like?"

"Beats me. Every Christmas I promise myself to pay more attention to what she likes. Forget every year."

"Alright. Let's have a look at the stalls, then, okay?"

While we were wandering through the stalls, we were trying to figure out what she could like. She was not wearing perfume. Not much makeup (and none of us would be confident enough in what to buy). She did not read much and he could not remember what movie she could like. She wasn't into DIY either.

"What did you get to your mother, Teddy?"

"A necklace, and some perfumed candles."

"Perfumed candles! That's an awesome idea!"

"You're free to use it if you'd like, ain't no copyright on it."

In the end, he bought 2 perfumed candles (Vanilla and Rose) and a set of soaps and bath stuff that feezed in the water.

"While we're here, why don't we take a something to drink?" He offered. "My treat. For forcing you to come."

"You're not the one who forced me."

"When your mother answered the phone, I told her I needed you to come because I had something really important to tell you. Don't think I did not notice your mother making allusions about me. That was petty. Sorry."

I sighed.

"Yeah, I guessed something was on her mind. So you knew?"

I was surprised he knew I was gay. As always, I would never have denied it - but we never really talked about it. But to think he'd use my mother fantasies…

"Well, not hard to guess. She always give me those eyes…Well, you see."

I smiled pensively.

"So you finally smile, uh? I thought you were really angry at me. You kept that frown all the time."

I did my best to relax my face and chuckled.

"Sorry. Christmas is always… Tough. All you can see everywhere are pictures of happy family. Happy Mum, Happy Dad, Happy Children. While all I see at home is my mother struggling and refusing that I get a job to help her financially. I just wish I could support her more."

"I think you are. When she talks about you, she always look so proud. I can only guess how hard it is, but I don't think she has any regret."

"Thanks, Billy."

I was afraid I killed the mood, but he was smiling at me. So I smiled at him too.

"You sure changed, Billy Kaplan."

"Did I?"

"Well, four months ago, you hated me. And now look at you, treating me a hot chocolate and cheering me up. What happened exactly?"

"I guess… _You_ happened."

Had his face been so red all along? I was doubting the cold was to blame.

"Anyway", he quickly added, "I didn't hate you. I just didn't want anyone to pity me. And you really seemed like a good guy, so I would have felt guilty if people started judging you because you were helping me. By the way, why were you so persistent, even though I was so much of a jerk?"

"I guess that's because you really did not look like a bad guy. And because I was sick of Walker anyway. You're not the only one I defended, by the way. But little by little, you became Walker's favourite target… I could not let that happen. Oh, and you were a superhero geek. You had to be a good guy."

We chuckled then fell silent.

I looked at the crowd but I wasn't really seeing them. I was just thinking about those four past months. About everything that had happened. I chuckled again, thinking of my mother and her stupidity. Well, maybe she wasn't exactly wrong?

"Anything funny?"

"Just thinking about something really stupid I'm about to do."

"Mind sharing?"

As an answer, I moved my face close to his and locked my lips on his. Just for a second. Then I moved back and started staring at the crowd again.

"Something like this."

I realised I was not even nervous about his reaction. I was ready to accept him slapping me. Getting angry. Leaving. Even though deep inside, I knew he wouldn't.

"Wha- What did you… You know I'm a guy, right?"

His answer surprised me as well as it made me laugh.

"Didn't you said earlier you knew I wasn't really into girls?"

"I did not! I said I knew your mother knew I had feelings for you! I thought she knew it wouldn't happen!"

"Oh. Well, then, that was an interesting way of coming out from me, don't you think?"

"But… I thought… I mean, at school…"

"Never told them I was straight. They always assumed it. Do you remember me ever flirting with a girl before?"

"Don't remember you flirting with a boy before."

"Wasn't any boy geek enough to interest me."

"And your mother… She knew?"

"Always did. It never appeared to be an issue with her. You should try telling your parents one day."

"Won't happen. I can't disappoint them."

"I'm sure you won't. But well, it's your problem. So, now, I'd like to come back on something you said earlier."

"Something I said?" He looked nervous, but our talk allowed his face to cool down a bit.

I smirked. "You know, something about… What was it again? Oh, right. About you, having feelings for me."

Oops, he was red again. No, actually, I didn't feel guilty at all. He just looked even cuter.

"Did I say that? No, really, I have no memory of that. You probably misheard me."

I shut him up by kissing him again. And although my lips stayed longer on his this time, he clearly had no intention to push me back. I misheard, uh?

I walked him back home, hand in hand. He looked a bit worried.

"Don't worry, I'll let you go before we get your house in sight. But I don't think we'll need to hide so much at my house. My mother knows how to keep a secret."

"How about school? If they knew… Wouldn't you…"

"Like I care about what they think! Might lose one or two fangirls, though. I'll send them a letter of apology, I guess."

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he punched me in the shoulder.

"Don't make fun out of me, Altman!"

"Domestic violence, already? Isn't it a bit too early, hon?"

"Shut up."

We splat up just before his street. This time, he initiated the kiss, which was not unpleasant.

"Merry Christmas, Teddy."

"Merry Christmas, Billy."

And as we walked away, I couldn't help thinking, no matter how cheesy it was, that this Wild Boy and me would last forever.

* * *

 _ **If you read this far, thank you very much. Thank you for your kind reviews, for your patience as I was always late posting those chapters, and thank you for simply reading this all! You guys are awesome!**_


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